Hoyer Statement on President Bush's Speech

"No One Doubts That We Are Engaged in a War on Terror"

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement this afternoon in response to President Bush's speech on the war on terror:

"After listening to the President's speech today on the global war on terror, it is not difficult to understand why American voters are very dissatisfied with his leadership and the Republican Congress, which has rubber-stamped his policies. Nor is it difficult to understand why so many Americans believe our nation is on the wrong track and yearn for a new direction.

"The President's speech today was largely devoted to a description of the nature and severity of the terrorist threat that confronts our nation and the free world. No one doubts that we are engaged in a war on terror, or that this is a war that we must win. Monday marks the fifth anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil in our nation's history, a painful reminder of the gravity of the war on terror and the necessity of victory.

"However, the American people deserve more from their Commander in Chief than mere rhetoric or a history lesson. They need and deserve a strategy for success - a strategy that this Administration and Republican Congress have failed to articulate or execute. Simply put, this Administration has failed to make our nation as safe as it could - and should - be.

"Consider, for example, that Osama bin Laden is still on the loose five years after 9/11. The Taliban is regaining strength in Afghanistan. The bipartisan 9/11 Commission has given this Administration and Republican Congress 12 Ds and five Fs for failing to implement critical security measures. American influence in the Islamic world is at an historic low. And our troops in Iraq are caught in the middle of a low-grade civil war that is only getting worse.

"The President's current policies are neither working, nor making us more secure. It is time for a new direction."